Jiangshi
Jiangshi, also known as a Chinese "hopping" vampire, is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. "Jiangshi" is read goeng-si in Cantonese, cương thi in Vietnamese, gangshi in Korean, and kyonshī in Japanese. It is typically depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in official garments from the Qing Dynasty, and it moves around by hopping, with its arms outstretched. It kills living creatures to absorb their qi, or "life force", usually at night, while in the day, it rests in a coffin or hides in dark places such as caves. Jiangshi legends have inspired a genre of jiangshi films and literature in Hong Kong and East Asia. Genesis The Qing Dynasty scholar Ji Xiaolan mentioned in his book Yuewei Caotang Biji (閱微草堂筆記) that the causes of a corpse being reanimated can be classified in either of two categories: a recently deceased person returning to life, or a corpse that has been buried for a long time but does not decompose. Some causes in folklore are described below: *The use of supernatural arts to resurrect the dead. *Spirit possession of a dead body. *A corpse absorbs sufficient yang qi to return to life. *A person's body is governed by three huns and seven pos. The Qing Dynasty scholar Yuan Mei wrote in his book Zi Bu Yu that "A person's hun is good but his po is evil, his hun is intelligent but his po is foolish". The hun leaves his body after death but his po remains and takes control of the body, so the dead person becomes a Jiangshi. *The dead person is not buried even after a funeral has been held. The corpse comes to life after it is struck by a bolt of lightning, or when a pregnant cat (or a black cat in some tales) leaps across the coffin. *When a person's soul fails to leave the deceased's body, due to improper death, suicide, or just wanting to cause trouble. *A person injured by a Jiangshi is infected with the "Jiangshi Virus" and gradually changes into a Jiangshi over time, as seen in the Mr. Vampire films. Appearance Generally, a Jiangshi's appearance can range from unremarkable (as in the case of a recently deceased person) to horrifying (rotting flesh, rigor mortis, as with corpses that have been in a state of decay over a period of time). The Chinese character for "jiang" (僵) in "Jiangshi" literally means "hard" or "stiff". It is believed that the Jiangshi is so stiff that it cannot bend its limbs and body, so it has to move around by hopping while keeping its arms stretched out for mobility. Jiangshi are depicted in popular culture to have a paper talisman (with a sealing spell) attached onto and hanging off the forehead in portrait orientation, and wear a uniform coat-like robe and round-top tall rimmed hat characteristic of a mandarin (Chinese official from during the Qing dynasty). A peculiar feature is its greenish-white skin; one theory is that this is derived from fungus or mould growing on corpses. It is said to have long white hair all over its head and may behave like animals. The influence of western vampire stories brought the blood-sucking aspect to the Chinese myth in more modern times in combination with the concept of the hungry ghost, though traditionally they feed off solely the qi of a living individual for sustenance and in order to grow more powerful. Methods and items used to counter Jiangshis according to folklore *Mirrors: Li Shizhen's medical book Bencao Gangmu mentioned, "A mirror is the essence of liquid metal. It is dark on the external but bright inside." (鏡乃金水之精，內明外暗。) Jiangshis are also said to be terrified of their own reflections. *Items made of wood from a peach tree: The Jingchu Suishi Ji (荊楚歲時記) mentioned, "Peach is the essence of the Five Elements. It can subjugate evil auras and deter evil spirits." (桃者，五行之精，能厭服邪氣，制御百鬼。) *A rooster's call: Yuan Mei's book Zi Bu Yu mentioned, "Evil spirits withdraw when they hear a rooster's call" (鬼聞雞鳴即縮。), because the rooster's call usually occurs with the rise of the sun. *Jujube seeds: Zi Bu Yu mentioned, "Nail seven jujube seeds into the acupuncture points on the back of a corpse." (棗核七枚，釘入屍脊背穴。) *Fire: Zi Bu Yu mentioned, "When set on fire, the sound of crackling flames, blood rushes forth and bones cry." (放火燒之，嘖嘖之聲，血湧骨鳴。) *Hooves of a black donkey: Mentioned in Zhang Muye's fantasy novel Ghost Blows Out the Light *Vinegar: Mentioned by coroners in eastern Fujian *Ba gua sign *I Ching *Tong Shu *Glutinous rice, rice chaff *Adzuki beans *Handbell *Thread stained with a concotion of black ink, chicken blood and burnt talisman *Blood of a black dog *Stonemason's awl *Axe *Broom *Holding ones breath *Taoist talisman, stuck on the forehead to immobilise them whilst it is firmly stuck on. *Dropping a bag of coins can cause the Jiangshi to count the coins. Life After People If jiangshis were real (existing in evolution), what would happen after humans had disappeared? 3 days after people Without supply of human blood, jiangshis are struggling to keep up the pace of adapting to life after people. They must either adapt to prey on other animals or die out. 1 year after people The jiangshis had now adapted to feed on the blood of dylanuses (but not transforming them) and now survived for much longer due to its new diet. 2,000 years after people Jiangshis might had lived on for a long time, preying on dylanuses to sustain their lifeless bodies, but now, they are now threatened by invading vampires, who are now aggressively competing with jiangshis for food and, unlike jiangshis, can turn dylanuses into vampires after attacking dylanuses. The jiangshis have now became extinct in the mainland China. Despite this, they still live on for much longer in Japan, where they had spread there 1,500 years earlier (about 500 years after people). This will likely proove they will live on for much longer, as long as vampires don't spread into Japan too. 5,000 years after people Sadly for jiangshis living in Japan, they have been killed off to extinction due to competition from vampires, which had now invaded Japan as vampires are very intelligent, possibly smarter than the extinct humans and even smarter than the jiangshis, knowing where the prey (both old and new) of different kinds are in. Jiangshis have now vanished like the humans did. Category:Season 5 Category:Fiction Category:Fictional Species Category:Monsters Category:Monsters That Survived Without Humans Category:Monsters That Died Category:China Category:Japan Category:Science Category:Nature Category:Animals Category:Animal Species Category:Species Category:Wild Animals Category:Animals That Died